Hajrah Begum (1910-2003) was an Indian politician, leader of the

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

and the General Secretary of

National Federation of Indian Women The National Federation of Indian Women is a women's organisation in India, the women's wing of the Communist Party of India. It was established on 4 June 1954 by several leaders from Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti including Aruna Asaf Ali.Overstre ...

(NFIW) from 1954 to 1962. Begum was born into a wealthy family in 1910. She grew up in Rampur. Her father was a magistrate in

Meerut Meerut (, ISO 15919, ISO: ''Mēraṭh'') is a city in the western region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the Meerut district, it is northeast of the national capital, New Delhi, and is ...

Zohra Sehgal Zohra Mumtaz Sehgal (born Sahibzadi Zohra Mumtazullah Khan Begum; 27 April 1912 – 10 July 2014) was an Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer. Having begun her career as a member of a contemporary dance troupe, she transitioned into acting ...

was her sister. Begum was married to her cousin, but soon divorced and returned to her father's house along with her infant son. During this period she became inspired by the

Meerut Conspiracy Case The Meerut Conspiracy Case was a controversial court case that was initiated in British Raj in March 1929 and decided in 1933. Several trade unionists, including three Englishmen, were arrested for organizing an Indian railway strike. The Briti ...

, the judicial process against the Indian communist leadership. In 1933 Begum went to Great Britain with her son, to study

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

teaching course there. During her studies in Britain, she was one of the first Indians to join the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

. She was part of the group of Indian Marxist students. She visited the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1935. In 1935 Begum returned to India along with K.M. Ashraf, Z.A. Ahmed and

Sajjad Zaheer Syed Sajjad Zaheer () (5 November 1905 – 13 September 1973) was a Pakistani-Indian Urdu political writer. He was a Marxist ideologue and a radical revolutionary who worked in both India and Pakistan. In the pre-independence era, he was a me ...

. Upon returning to India, she married Z.A. Ahmed and both became full-time party cadres of the

. She became active in the

Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of ...

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

, where she organized railway coolies, press workers and peasants. She was part of a core group of young leaders of the CSP in Allahabad, along with Z.A. Ahmed, K.M. Ashraf and Rammanohar Lohia; all of whom except Lohia were also members of the underground CPI. At the time she was one of only a handful of female CPI members. She became the organising secretary of the

All India Women's Conference The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) is a non-governmental organisation ( NGO) based in Delhi. It was founded in 1927 by Margaret Cousins in order to improve educational efforts for women and children and has expanded its scope to also tack ...

in 1940, and edited its organ Hindi-language organ ''Roshni''. She was a frequent contributor to the weekly '' Qaumi Jang''. She was imprisoned at Lucknow Jail for five months in 1949, and worked in the underground after her release. She was a participant at the World Peace Conference in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

in 1952. Begum was one of the founders of the

and former General Secretary from 1954 to 1962. Begum had a daughter, Urdu theater director, Salima Raza, and a granddaughter, actress

Ayesha Raza Mishra Ayesha Raza Mishra (born 26 September 1977) is an Indian actress. Career Ayesha Raza Mishra began her career by working in theatre, advertisements, and television shows. She went on to portray motherly roles in several films including ''Mada ...

. Begum died on 20 January 2003, after a prolonged period of illness.

References

{{Reflist Communist Party of India politicians from Uttar Pradesh Female politicians of the Communist Party of India 1910 births 2003 deaths